Inside Bill Ackman’s portfolio: The stocks he owns and how to invest like him

Who is Bill Ackman and what is his investment style?

Bill Ackman is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund that’s known for its concentrated, high-conviction investment approach. Over the past two decades, Ackman’s become closely associated with activist investing – taking significant positions in public companies and engaging with management to advocate for strategic or operational change.

Ackman invests primarily through Pershing Square, not as an individual investor. The firm typically holds a small number of core positions, often fewer than ten, reflecting Ackman’s belief that deep research and strong conviction can outweigh broad diversification.

Pershing Square’s strategy combines elements of value investing, long-term ownership and active engagement. Ackman tends to favor established businesses with strong brands, predictable cash flows and opportunities for improvement. While this approach can increase volatility, it’s designed to drive long-term value creation rather than short-term trading gains.

Importantly, Pershing Square’s holdings are disclosed periodically through regulatory filings, which may not reflect current positions and shouldn’t be interpreted as investment recommendations.

What does Bill Ackman invest in? Breaking down his portfolio

Based on Pershing Square Capital Management’s most recent publicly disclosed 13F filing, the portfolio is highly concentrated, with a small number of positions making up the majority of reported equity exposure. As of the latest filing, the core disclosed holdings include:

• Uber Technologies – The largest reported position, reflecting exposure to global mobility, delivery and platform-based services.
• Brookfield Corporation – A major holding providing diversified exposure to asset management, infrastructure and real assets.
• Alphabet – Exposure to digital advertising, cloud services and long-term technology innovation across multiple share classes.
• Howard Hughes Holdings – A real estate development company focused on large-scale master-planned communities and commercial properties.
• Restaurant Brands International – A global quick-service restaurant operator with established consumer brands and franchised cash flows.
• Amazon – Exposure to global e-commerce, logistics infrastructure and cloud computing through AWS.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill – A long-term consumer-facing holding tied to brand strength, pricing power, and operational execution.
• Hilton Worldwide Holdings – Exposure to global travel and hospitality through an asset-light franchise model.

These holdings reflect Pershing Square’s institutional investment decisions at specific points in time, based on publicly available disclosures. Due to reporting delays, private transactions and strategic considerations, it isn’t possible to perfectly replicate Pershing Square’s portfolio, and these examples are provided for educational context only.

Based on publicly disclosed 13F data for Q3 2025. Holdings and weightings may change over time and don’t represent current positions.

Ackman’s recent and notable investments

Throughout his career, Ackman has experienced both notable successes and well-documented challenges. Long-term investments in companies such as Chipotle have highlighted the potential benefits of patience and operational improvement, while other investments have underscored the importance of governance and risk management.

Ackman is also known for his use of hedging strategies at the fund level during periods of market stress. During the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pershing Square implemented hedges designed to protect the portfolio from extreme downside risk – an example of institutional risk management rather than a tactic available to most individual investors.

While Ackman has commented publicly on digital assets and broader market innovation, cryptocurrency hasn’t been a core component of Pershing Square’s disclosed investment strategy.

Bill Ackman’s investing strategy explained

Ackman’s strategy is often described as activist investing, which involves taking meaningful stakes in companies and engaging with management on long-term strategy, capital allocation or operational changes. This approach requires significant resources, access and influence, making it difficult for individual investors to replicate directly.

At its core, Ackman’s strategy emphasizes long-term value creation, disciplined research and a willingness to hold positions through periods of volatility. Pershing Square’s concentrated structure reflects confidence in its analysis, but also amplifies risk when investment theses don’t play out as expected.

For most investors, the takeaway isn’t to copy strategies, but to understand the underlying principles – conviction, patience and focus on business fundamentals – and apply them in a way that suits their own goals and risk tolerance.

How to follow Bill Ackman’s approach using Crypto.com Whale Baskets

While Pershing Square’s exact portfolio can’t be replicated, investors can apply Ackman-inspired principles using modern tools like Crypto.com Whale Baskets.

Whale Baskets aren’t designed to mirror Pershing Square’s holdings. Instead, they enable investors to follow publicly disclosed portfolios of well-known figures and institutions, and to gain structured exposure to market themes using transparent, accessible tools.

• Structured exposure: Whale Baskets are ranked by performance across different time horizons, such as 3 months, 6 months and 1 year, helping investors choose based on their own outlook.
• Theme-based alignment: Certain baskets emphasize established companies and core sectors, reflecting principles commonly associated with long-term, fundamentals-driven investing.
• Ongoing rebalancing: Investors receive alerts when baskets are updated, helping them stay aligned with basket objectives.
• Passive income potential: While not all holdings pay dividends, eligible customers may participate in the securities lending program, subject to applicable terms.

Pros and cons of following billionaire investing styles

Pros

• Provides insight into disciplined, long-term investment frameworks
  Can help investors understand how long-term strategies are structured, with an emphasis on fundamentals, risk management and patience over short-term market movements.
• Helps investors understand how professionals evaluate businesses
  Public portfolio disclosures and commentary can offer insight into how experienced investors assess factors like cash flow, competitive positioning and management quality.
• Encourages patience and focus on fundamentals
  Observing long-term holding periods can reinforce the value of avoiding reactive decisions and staying focused on underlying business performance.

Cons

• Portfolio disclosures are delayed
  Regulatory filings are published after trades occur, meaning disclosed holdings may not accurately represent current positions or recent strategy changes.
• Institutional strategies may involve risks or tools unavailable to individuals
  Large firms may use approaches or instruments that aren’t accessible or suitable for individual investors, limiting direct comparison or replication.
• High concentration can increase volatility
  Concentrated portfolios can lead to larger swings in value, which may be harder for individual investors to manage.

Ready to get started?

1. Sign up on Crypto.com and open a Crypto.com Stocks account.
2. Deposit via bank transfer (free)*, card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
3. Navigate to the ‘Trade’ tab and explore Whale Baskets. 

FAQs about Bill Ackman’s investments

What are Bill Ackman’s main investments?
They vary over time and are disclosed through Pershing Square’s public regulatory filings.

Can I replicate Bill Ackman’s portfolio?
No. Even with publicly available data, it isn’t possible to perfectly replicate Pershing Square’s portfolio due to reporting delays, private transactions and institutional decision-making.

Does Bill Ackman invest in crypto?
Ackman has discussed digital assets publicly, but cryptocurrency isn’t a core part of Pershing Square’s disclosed strategy.

What are Whale Baskets?
Whale Baskets are curated stock groupings available on Crypto.com Stocks that use publicly disclosed data to provide structured exposure to different market themes.

* Other fees may apply.

This is informational content sponsored by Crypto.com and should not be considered as investment advice.

By using the term ‘baskets’, Foris Capital is not adopting the FINRA 4210 ‘baskets’ definition; we are using it to generically describe the groupings of stocks designated as ‘Whale Baskets’

Even with publicly available data, it's impossible to perfectly replicate an individual's portfolio. There might be lag times in reporting, private investments that aren't disclosed, and strategic decisions that go beyond simple stock ownership. Past performance of these stock baskets, or the performance of the referenced individuals' portfolios, is not indicative of future results. These baskets are provided for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation or a recommendation of any individual investment nor is it for any investment strategy. There is no guarantee that these stock baskets will replicate or outperform the performance of any individual's portfolio or the market overall.  Furthermore, the investment decisions of individuals are complex and may involve factors not reflected in these stock baskets (e.g., access to private deals, equity options, different time horizons, unique risk tolerance).

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